"I really feel badly that she's trying to claw her way out of it with this 'bullying' thing," Frankel, 39, tells Us. "I honestly don't think this is the right place for her to be on television. I think she can't resist being on the show, but it's really not healthy for her. Frankly, if I'm not on the show again, that’ll make it better for her because me being on the show again is certainly not good for her health. But I've never seen anything like it -- and I really did grow up in a crazy town."

Frankel suspects Bensimon "wants to be infamous, rather than thinking about what actually is going on with her."